Apparatus for processing olives



Dec. 4, 1951 L. B. SAMMIS ETAL APPARATUS FOR PROCESSING OLIV 2 SHEETSSHEET 1 o poaoo INVENTORS .L..B.5ammzs R.L.Xecb

ATTORNEYS L. B. SAMMIS ETAL APPARATUS FOR PROCESSING OLIVES Dec. 4, 1951Original Filed Sept.

2 SHEETSSHEET 2 A INVENTORS .L..B.5amm is ATTORNEYS Patented Dec. 4,1951 UNITED STATES orrlci:

APPARATUS FOR PROCESSING OLIVES Louis B. Sammis and Ray L. Keck,Wallace, Calif.

2 Claims. 1

This application is a division of application filed September 14, 1945,Serial No. 616,194, now Patent No. 2,464,947, granted March 22, 1949,and is directed to a preferred form of apparatus for treating olives inaccordance with the process disclosed in such aforesaid application. Theproblems involved in the successful processing of olives and how ourimproved process solves some of those problems is set forth at length insaid copending application to which reference is made, and, therefore,will not be repeated here.

The primary object of the present invention is to provide a new type ofapparatus for carrying out a continuous treatment of green ripe olivesas distinguished from the so-called batch system described at length inthe above original application of which this is a division.

A further object of the invention is to provide an apparatus in which amass of olives may be first immerged in and then slowly moved through atreating solution, then out of the solution and through a path ofmovement through the air, including a means whereby the olives will becontinuously tumbled about relative to each other as they are movingthrough the air so that each individual olive will be exposed to theoxidizing action of the air whereby to cause all of the olives to besubstantially uniformly darkened in color as is essential to theproduction of a high grade marketable final product.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a means to drainthe solution from the olives as they travel the path through the air soas to render the oxidizing action of the air fully efiective, as well asto conserve the supply of such solution.

A further object of the invention is to produce a practical device andone which will be exceedingly effective for the purpose for which it isdesigned.

These objects are accomplished by means of such structure and relativearrangement of parts as will fully appear by a perusal of the followingspecification and claims.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is an end view of the apparatus;

Figure 2 is a transverse vertical section through the processing drum.

Figure 3 is a longitudinal vertical section through the drum.

Figure 4 is a fragmentary perspective view of a compartment door latch.

Referring now more particularly to the characters of reference on thedrawings, the numeral l designates any desirable form of supportingfoundation or framework. Mounted on this support are pairs of spacedapart rollers 2 and supported for rotation on these rollers is a drumhaving an impervious outer shell 3 and an impervious polygonal innershell 5 spaced from the shell 4. Connecting between the corners ofadjacent sides 6 of the shell 5 and the shell 4 are partition walls Iwhich divide the drum 3 into a plurality of compartments 8.

Along the length of each partition wall 1 and preferably immediatelyadjacent the shell 4 there are provided a plurality of longitudinallyspaced apart small slots 9 which open communication from compartment tocompartment 8 at that point.

At each end of each side 6 is a door operable to open communication fromthe open center portion of the drum into each compartment 8. In thepreferred form shown in the drawings, each of these doors comprises asliding plate It! slidable in guides ll. These slide doors are to belocked tightly in closed position by suitable means. As an example,there is shown a rod l2 linked to each door as at I3. This rod isadapted to be engaged under a cam slot 14 in a plate 15 located at theend of the drum and locked in that position by a screw nut unit It.

Any suitable means for very slowlv rotating the drum is provided. In thepresent instance and as the preferred form, there is shown a motor I!driving a reduction gear assembly [8 which in turn drives a small gear59 connected in driving relation with the drum 3 by a chain 29.

In using the invention a solution of sodium hydroxide or other propertreating solution is filled into the lower portion of the drum to adepth to cover olives introduced in the compartments to a de th of twoor three inches. With the slow rotation of the drum whereby thecompartments 8 move in a circular path about the axis of the drum thesolution will drain by gravity through the slots 9 from the uppermostcompartments so that the solution will remain in the lowermostcompartments.

The olives are to be introduced into the compartments for treatment andthis is accomplished by successively opening the doors in and fluming orpumping the olives into each compartment to a desired depth so that whenthe compartments are in their lowermost position the olives therein willbe covered by the solution to the desired depth, as illustrated in Fig;2 of the drawings. The doors are then tightly closed.

'The solution and olives being then in the drum in the manner described,the drum is slowly rotated. Due to the slow speed of the drum the sodiumhydroxide solution remains at a fairly constant level in the lower sideof the drum while the olives in the several compartments 8 are slowlyand intermittently moved through this solution and then out of the samefor exposure to the air. the olives slowly and uniformly roll about eachother to keep them fairly well agitated, and as they move out of thesolution into the air and on about the circle of movement, they tumbleabout so that they have complete and uniform surface exposure to the airand become thoroughly oxidized before the rotation of the drum isdiscontinued. Such rotation of the drum is first discontinued when thesolution has cut into the fiesh of the olives to a depth ofapproximatelyone-sixteenth of an inch, and in our process this usually takes fromthree to six hours according to the condition of the olives. In thissame period of time theolives have not only been properly penetrated bythe solution to that depth, but they have been simultaneously therewithand automatically subjected to the proper oxidation so that at the endof this rotation of the drum they are ready for the water treatmentwhich is necessary to the proper diffusion of the coloring matter.

The sodium hydroxide solution is, therefore, Withdrawn and watersubstituted therefor and the drum is then again slowly rotated in thepresence of this water for a period of about twelve hours whichthoroughly washes out the treatin solution and diffuses the coloringmatter uniformly throughout all the olives.

The water is withdrawn and another solution of sodium hydroxideintroduced into the drum and the rotation of the drum repeated with thesame result f continuing the penetration of the solution to a furtherdepth into the flesh of the olives. The sodium hydroxide is thenwithdrawn and the olives again subjected to' the water treatment afterwhich a final treatment with the sodium hydroxide is indulged infollowed by a final washing of the olives, all within the drum.

The process, carried out in our apparatus and according to our method,is usually completed within a period of about three days as against theperiod of from seven to ten days required under the old process.Furthermore, due to the gentle manipulation and constant agitation ofthe olives as they move through the sodium hydroxide, and through theair, and through the water, the penetration of the sodium hydroxide ismore thorough, and the diffustion of the coloring matter through theolives is much more uniform so that the final product is firmer, moreproperly colored, and in much more uniform condition as to both, thanare olives processed under previous methods.

It will also be apparent that due to the fact that when the olives areonce placed in the drum, the handling of the same is entirely andautomatically taken care of by the operation of the drum, there is verylittle labor cost involved in handling the same.

When finally completely processed in the drum, the olives will bewithdrawn from the several compartments by any desired method,preferably As the drum rotates,

through the use of a standard olive pump which is available on themarket or by sluicing them out through outlet openings 2! at the end ofeach compartment 8. Just as soon as the olives are withdrawn from thedrum, the drum may be put into operation onanother batch of olives.

From the foregoing description it will be readily seen that there hasbeen produced such a device as substantially fulfills the objects of theinvention as set forth herein.

While this specification sets forth in detail the present and preferredconstruction of the device, still in practice such deviations from suchdetail may be resorted to as do not form a departure from the spirit ofthe invention, as defined by the appended claims.

Having thus described the invention, the fol lowing is claimed as newand useful and upon which Letters Pattent is desired.

1. An apparatus for the purpose described comprising a drum mounted forslow rotation, means to rotate the drum, the drum comprising spacedapart inner and outer shells impervious to air and liquid, radiallydisposed partition walls spaced apart circumferentially of the drumbetween the inner and outer shells to divide the drum intocircumferentially spaced compartments each wall being provided withlongitudinally spaced slots in its edge adjacent the outer shell, doormeans in the inner shell for opening into each compartment, and anoutlet means from each compartment adjacent the outer shell thereof.

2. An apparatus for the treatment of olives comprising a substantiallyhorizontally disposed drum which includes an outer wall and an innerwall spaced from the outer wall and substantially concentric therewith,end walls connecting the spaced outer and inner walls, all of such wallsbeing impervious to liquid and leaving a central open area through thedrum, circumferentially spaced innerpartition walls extendinglongitudinally of the drum between the inner and outer walls anddividing the drum into separate compartments, such partition walls beingpervious to liquid and air, means for introducing olives into thecompartments, a treating liquid in the lower portion of the drum, andmeans to rotate the drum at a speed which will leave the liquid at asubstantially constant level whereby olives in the compartments willsuccessively move into and out of the liquid with the rotation of thedrum; the compartments having individual access openings in the innerdrum wall.

LOUIS B. SAMMIE. RAY L. KECK.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 608,446 Eastwick N Aug. 2, 1898676,608 Hale June 18, 1901 906,851 Bailey et al. Dec. 15, 1908 948,679Brandenburg Feb. 8, 1910 1,010,637 Kircheis Dec. 5, 1911 1,741,249Powell Dec. 31, 1929 1,995,996 Delemme Mar. 26, 1935

